Against the backdrop of the situation around Ukraine, the European Union needs “a kind of war economy,” said Manfred Weber, a German politician and chairman of the European People’s Party (EPP), the leading faction of the European Parliament, in an interview with the Funke media group.
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“If we look at our need for weapons and ammunition, it becomes clear that we need, although this is not an easy term, a kind of war economy in the EU in order to be able to provide stability and security,” he said.
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According to the parliamentarian, European countries are now unable to quickly provide the necessary weapons “neither for their own defense, nor for Ukraine.” In this context, he noted that “new ways” are needed, the EU countries need to increase their capacities for the production of weapons and ammunition.
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Weber added that he was disappointed by the German-French talks over the weekend, which resulted in “nothing concrete“. In his opinion, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron “have not yet been able” to respond to “historical challenges“, as German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and French President Charles de Gaulle did in their time.
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“Both have fallen into the trap of managing everyday life. Macron is busy with pension reform, Scholz with his traffic light coalition. This is a failure that weakens Europe for a long time,” the politician believes.
